Can-cover-removing apparatus



1.M.RUDE. CAN COVER REIVIOVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-4| I9l-8. 1,340,409.

Patented May 18, 1920.'

UNITED STATES FATNT QFFCE.

JAMES' M. RUDE,OF COVINGTON, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO CAN CONSERVATIONCOMPANY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, A. CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

CAN-COVER-REMOVING APPARATUS.

' Application filed March 4,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES M'. RUDE, a citizen. of the United` States,residing at Covington, in the county of Kenton and State of Kentucky,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Cover- RemovingApparatus; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, suoli as will enable others skilledin the art to 'which it appertains to make and use the same.

rlhis invention relates to improvements in abrading machines, and moreparticularly to such as are adapted for use in treating usedv cans fortheir recovery.

vThe object in `view is the provision of means for quickly, easily andinexpensively removing injured covers from used cans and leaving thecans in proper condition for further treatment for re-use.

With this and further objects in view as will in part hereinafter becomeapparent and in part be stated, the invention comprises certain novelconstructions, combinations and arrangements of partsas subsequentlyspecified and claimed.

VIn the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation ofan apparatus embodying thefeatures of the present inventioinparts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a substantially vertical section taken on the planes indicatedby line 2*2 of Fig. 1, and looking in the direction indicated by thearrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged', vertical central section throughy a part of thestructure on the plane substantially as indicated by the line l3--3 ofFig. 1, parts being seenin elevation.

Fig. is a fragmentary, detail view, partly in elevation and partly insection, showing the action of the face of the emery wheelonpthe edgeAoffthe can.

-Referring to the ldrawing by numerals, 1, 1 indicate standards havingslide-bearings 2, 2 in. which is mounted the reciprocating shaft 3 whichis held againstrotation in. any suitable manner, asbybeing keyed to itssupl )Orts 2 orb `the aresence of an o eratino' l) O lever 4 extendingthrough a slot 5 in the shaft. A pin 6 'extends through the shaftandthrough a slot 7 in the lever 4f fortra nsmittingy motion from thelever to the shaft 3.

Detachably mounted on one` end of the shaft3 is a saucer-likecan-receivingplatc consisting of a disk-shaped body 8 having a forwardlyinclined flange 9 and opened Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1920.

1918. Serial No. 220,214.

vcentrally forthe admission of the end of Vears 12 spaced uniformlyabout the iiange and varying in number according to the work to be doneand especially as governed by the size of cans to be treated. Apreferable number of pairs of ears 12 and their cooperating partsconsists of-four, as indicated in the accompanying drawing. Between theears of each pair 12 extends a lever 13, each lever 13 being pivoted at111 to the respective pair of ears, and extending rearwardly past itspivot point to a trip-engaging end 15. The lever 13 extends past itspivot .141 in the opposite direction and is bent about the fiange 9 andterminates in an arcuate gripping plate 16. Each gripping plate 16 ispreferablylined with a sheet 17 of rough material, such as asbestos, orthe inner face of the plate may simply be knurled or otherwise roughenedso as to afford aneffective gripping inner surface for the plate.Springs 18 are iiXed to the rear face of plate 8, one being provided foreach lever 13 and located for pressing the rear end of the leverrearward, which pressure results in pressing the gripping plates 16radially inward'.

f Fixed to that standard 1 which is nearer the disk 8 is an annulus 19arranged in the path of rearward travel of the rear ends, that is theends 15, of levers 13 so that when the shaft 3 is moved-rearwardly thesaid ends strike the annnlus and the further movement of shaft 3 bydrawing thedisk 8 nearer the annulus 19 effects a movement of the levers13 equal tov movingfthe ends 15 forwardly. This results in radial out-,ward movement of the gripping plates. 16

against the pressure of springs 18. The openingof thc gripping plates 16in this way enables the ready introduction of a can between the plates16V and in conta-ct with plate S. T he operator in placing the can 2Odoes so manually and finds that the inclined 'flange 9 materiallyassists in guiding the can to a relatively central. position incorcoincident with the axis of can 2O while the i can is being operatedupon.

The lever Il may be mounted in any appropriate manner, as by beingpivoted at 23 to the framework 211 to which the standards 1 are fixed. Aspring 25 preferably engages the lever -l and is tensioned to draw thesame rearward.

In operation, a can is applied as above described and the operatorgrasping the handle 211: of leverl presses the same forward until theedge of the end of can 20 strikes the face of emery wheel 21. That endof can 20 is presented to the emery wheel which carries the injuredcover. By injured cover is meant that closure of the can which has beenpunctured or cut away more or less for removal of the contents of thecan. The pressure on the lever 2% by the hand of the operator iscontinued until the emery wheel has out its way through the bead-likeportion at the edge of the injured cover of the can so that the partstake the position indicated in Fig. i where the cutaway portion of thecover is indicated in dotted lines at 26. As soon as this point isreached, the lever t is allowed to be drawn back by the spring 25 andthe can 20 released, a new can being applied and the operation repeated.its soon as the portion 26 is cut away the main portion of the injuredcover of the can, that is the portion extending across the areasurrounded by the can body, will fall away from the can and leave theparts free for access to the interior of the can. The can is then readyfor further treatment in the way of cleansing for re-use.

A collar 27 surrounds the shaft 3 and is adjustably connected thereto bya set screw 28 and the shaft 3 is preferably provided with graduations29 scaled to agree with the varying lengths of cans. The collar 27 isdesigned to be set at any given point on tl ie graduations 29 accordingto the particular can to be operated upon, and the parts areproportioned to cause the outer face of the collar to strike the bearing2 when the portion 26 of the can 2O has been completely ground off. Thusthe operator in pressing the lever l forward does not have to give atltention to the extent to which the grinding operation has proceeded. Ilemerely presses the level' forward until the collar 27 strikes the end ofthe bearing 2 and then pulls the lever backward again to release thecan. Supplementing the stop provided by collar 27 is a set screw 30threaded through a pro jection 31 extending laterally from the lowerportion of lever 4, the screw being designed to strike a part of theframe 24: when the lever 4C reaches the forward limit of its movement.The screw 30 is utilized to relieve the collar 27 from excess strain andis adjusted proportionally to the adjustment of the collar 27, whenevera change is made for the purpose of operating on cans of differentlength. It should be obvious, of course, that either the -stop 27 or thestop provided by screw 30 may be utilized without the other, but the useof both tends to increase the eiiiciency of the machine, insuringagainst the injury that might result from failure of the stop to limitthe movement of the shaft 8. It is apparent, of course, that if theshaft 3 is moved forward too far, more than the portion 26 of can 2lwill be removed and the can will be proportionally weakened. lVhat Iclaim is 1. In can cover removing apparatus, the combination of areciprocating shaft, canengaging means mounted thereon adapted to move acan to a position for having its cover severed, and an adjustable stopfor limiting the movement of the shaft.

2. In can cover removing apparatus, the combination with a rotaryabrader, of a reciprocating non-rotary shaft movable toward Vand awayfrom the abrader and adapted to press a can toward the abrader, andmeans for limiting the movement of the shaft toward the abrader.

3. In can cover removing apparatus, the combination with an abrader forcutting away a can cover, of a plate for receiving the 'end of the canopposite the cover to be removed, means for advancing the plate towardthe abrader, and means for gripping the can while thus advancing.

et. In can cover removing apparatus, the combination with an abrader forcutting away a can cover, of a plate for receiving` the end of the canopposite the cover to be removed, means for advancing the plate towardthe Vabrader, and means carried by the plate for gripping the can whilethus advancing.

5. In can cover removing apparatus, the combination with an abrader forcutting away a can cover, of a plate for receiving the end of the canopposite the cover to be removed, means for advancing the plate. towardthe abrader, levers pivoted to the plate and having can grippingterminals, and springs pressing the levers in position for causing thegripping terminals to engage and retain a can.

G. in can cover removing apparatus, the combination with an abrader forcutting away a can cover, of a plate for receiving the end of the canopposite the coverto be removed, means for advancing the plate der forswinging the levers to a position retoward the abrader, levers pivotedto the leasing the can. 10 plate and having can gripping terminals, Intestimony whereof I ai'lix my signature springs pressing the levers inposition for in presence of two witnesses.

causing the gripping terminals to engage JAMES M. RUDE. and retain acan, and means in the path of Witnesses: movement of the levers when thecan re- C! H. FISSLER,

ceiving plate is moved away from the abra- EDGAR M. KITCHIN.

